United States vs USSR: Primary energy use
United States
26,064 terawatt-hours
in 2025
USSR
17,692 terawatt-hours
in 1991
United States rank
2nd
USSR rank
2nd
Primary energy use over time
- United States
- USSR
How they compare
United States currently reports 26,064 terawatt-hours against 17,692 terawatt-hours in USSR, a difference of 8,372 terawatt-hours.
That makes United States's figure about 1.5 times USSR's.
Across all 27 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
United States ranks 2nd and USSR ranks 2nd of 218 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | United States | USSR | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 15,521 terawatt-hours | 7,495 terawatt-hours | 8,026 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1970s | 19,503 terawatt-hours | 10,740 terawatt-hours | 8,763 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1980s | 20,159 terawatt-hours | 15,673 terawatt-hours | 4,487 terawatt-hours | United States |
| 1990s | 22,256 terawatt-hours | 17,833 terawatt-hours | 4,424 terawatt-hours | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher primary energy use, United States or USSR?
- United States, at 26,064 terawatt-hours against 17,692 terawatt-hours in USSR as of 2025.
- What is the difference in primary energy use between United States and USSR?
- 8,372 terawatt-hours, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for United States and USSR?
- 27 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 1991.
- How do United States and USSR rank globally for primary energy use?
- United States ranks 2nd and USSR ranks 2nd of 218 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017); U.S. Energy Information Administration (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Primary energy use. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours of total energy supply.